How I Spent the Fourth of July In Ireland

Although I was bummed to not be headed to Dublin to see Casey and fam and then hook back up with John and then explore a new to me part of Ireland — Glendalough and Arklow — I knew it was going to be a good day. The day before Alo and Mary talked about going to the bog to collect turf and for me, that sounded like fun. 

We were all moving slowly in the morning — well, probably not Alo who is always out of bed before the rest of us since, ya know, farming duties — but when I came into the kitchen, Alo was preparing breakfast and suggested I ring Gene to invite him. He happily accepted, so we got to work. I did my best to help even though I got shit for how I made the eggs (attempted to make sunny side up eggs) and almost didn't heat the plates before serving everyone. 

As usual, Gene kept us entertained with endless stories. My favorite: his beloved family dog, Brownie, was 15 years old and not doing well. He thought the kindest thing he could do was to put it out of its misery. Just as Gene was prepared to do it, Brownie decided to show him he wasn't done living by heading off to Percy's house (the next plot of land at the far end of the Thatch car park) and killing one of his many cats. Gene couldn't let Percy see what had just happened so he grabbed the very dead cat and threw it in the passenger side of his car, which he promptly forgot about. It wasn't until the next morning when he collected a friend and she freaked the f out — rightly so — at discovering a dead cat at her feet, that he remembered it was there. Problem was, he didn't have a shovel or a spade in his car, so he couldn't bury it. Another day went by, a work day, and his colleagues got wind of the story and came out to the car to see for themselves that there was a dead cat in Gene's car. Finally, after work he threw the cat out in the field and knew the birds would take care of the cat. 

Sometimes people tell stories and you have a feeling that they're embellishing things to make the story a little better. Or it's just so unbelievable that you question the validity of it in the first place. But this is Gene and honestly nearly everything he tells me is believable. Even a story about him forgetting to dispose of a dead cat that hung out in his car for two days. 

By the way, Brownie lived another year after that. 

With breakfast behind us, we made our plan to head to the bog! If you're wondering what the bog is, it's a flat wetland where peat accumulates below ground level. Turf is cut (used to be done by hand but now is typically done using machinery) and the sods then need to be spread out, turned, and footed (stacked in small towers/pyramids) to dry out. Families then collect their turf and bring it home where it's burned in open fires or stoves.

Side note: if interested in learning more about Irish turf, read this article.

We had the "easy" part and just needed to get the (mostly) dried turf and bring it back to the farm. But first we had to drive the tractor there, with a stop to pick up a trailer. I put on what I coined my farm bog chic outfit and very happily joined Alo in the tractor for the 25-minute drive. Riding shotgun in a tractor on small country roads in Ireland is pretty rad! 

I learned that the commercial sale of turf is prohibited in Ireland now due to environmental concerns and regulations, but homeowners with cutting rights can cut turf for their own homes or gift it to family, friends or neighbors. I also learned, when gleefully telling others about my day on the bog, that most people do not enjoy spending time on the bog, and some from the younger generation are hoping that the Irish government will make burning turf illegal all together. 

Once we got to the site, we had to figure out which plot we were taking the turf from. Lots of different families collect their turf from the same bog and it all looks the same so with a quick video chat, we got it all sorted and got to work. 

We took the piles and threw them into the front-end loader bucket of Alo's tractor, which he then drove over to and dumped into the trailer. We made quick work of this and I loved it and really could have kept going. I was originally worried about this when I saw the size of the trailer, but it wasn't that hard. It helped that it was a cool and overcast day and we didn't have to worry about midges. 

Once all the turf was loaded into the trailer, we had to do some stacking of the sods to create a bit of a barrier to ensure they didn't fall out on the ride back to the farm. My firewood stacking days as a child totally came in handy!

And with that, we headed back to the farm — with a stop to photograph a donkey just hanging out in the front yard of a house — where the turf was expertly dropped into the shed. 

It was a really fun adventure and I got to see Alo's tractor driving prowess up close and personal. I always knew he was very good at what he does, but to be in the tractor watching him expertly maneuver small country roads and hooking up and backing up the trailer, was very impressive! 

While that was definitely the highlight of my day, we also went out to dinner for a delicious meal. I got the minute steak, because it was the smallest option, but a gigantic slab of meat was delivered. So much so that all of us at the table — myself, Mary, Alo and Aidan — all questioned if they brought the right steak to me. I also got shit for getting my (delicious!) vegetable soup to go, Alo saying that I was the first person he met to ever get their soup for takeaway. The meal was great, the company was even better. 

After that, it was off to the Thatch. It was already filled with a handful of musicians and loads of other customers and even a few dogs. But we eventually got primo seating (on the settle bed and the seats right beneath it) and settled in for several hours. 

Our night ended shortly after Gene came out with a fake ferret (I think) to try and get a rise out of some of the customers and the dogs. 

It was a great day in Ireland — one for the books! I truly love the randomness of my days here and the adventures my friends invite me to be part of. I'll be thinking back on this Fourth of July for a really long time with nothing but a smile on my face.